Exploitation and diffusion of public research: the case of academic spin-off companies in Italy

Scientific and technological knowledge is considered the most important raw material for economic growth. The attention on the exploitation of public research, undoubtedly one of the main sources of new scientific and technological knowledge, has increased in recent years. After reviewing some concepts regarding the exploitation of public research results, the paper focuses on the analysis of academic spinoff companies as one of the most promising ways to transfer research results to the market place. The phenomenon of academic spin-off companies is described using both international evidence and a recent survey regarding 48 Italian spin-off companies.